Washington Mayor Gary Manier decries FEMA after aid appeal is denied

Tuesday

Mar 4, 2014 at 12:01 AMMar 4, 2014 at 11:10 PM

Zach Berg of the Journal Star

WASHINGTON — City officials will have to find other ways to fund the $26 million repair and cleanup of Washington after the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied Illinois’ appeal for federal aid to areas struck by tornadoes Nov. 17.

“The federal government has failed us. The FEMA system is broken,” Washington Mayor Gary Manier said at a new conference at City Hall on Tuesday night. “Downstate Illinois doesn’t have a chance of getting aid from the federal government.”

The state originally sought FEMA’s aid for nine central and southern Illinois counties struck by tornadoes Nov. 17. It appealed after FEMA decided not to award the state any funding.

It was estimated by city officials that Washington would have received about 80 percent of any federal aid given to Illinois. An EF-4 tornado damaged or destroyed more than 1,000 homes in the city. The tornado was directly responsible for two deaths and partially to blame for a third.

FEMA told Manier and other state officials the debris removal done after the first three days of cleanup was not going to be paid for by the federal government. FEMA also thought the federal government did not have to pay for the damage done to roads, curbs and sidewalks done by the vehicles that helped clear the streets.

“FEMA felt we didn’t have to do all that cleaning up. You saw all the debris that was piled, there were mountains of debris everywhere,” Manier said.

City officials thought it was necessary to clean up as much as they could as quickly as they could because of the impending cold and snow.

Manier said the state likely will not appeal to FEMA again for aid.

“I wouldn’t put my staff through the FEMA process again, we have a city to run,” Manier said. “We’re going to put this city back together without FEMA.”

City Administrator Tim Gleason said the city will not be reducing staff or making any drastic cuts in order to make up the $26 million needed to clean up the city. Gleason and Manier said they will now turn to the state for advice and aid.

“Quite simply, Governor Quinn has pledged his support to Mayor Manier. He’s just as disappointed in this decision as we are,” Gleason said.

Quinn will visit the city Wednesday. In a news release he said he is working with the Illinois Congressional delegation to pass legislation that will improve the federal disaster assistance formula. He also said he has directed all state agencies to assemble a relief package that will help communities rebuild.

Manier seems ready to accept all aid but made it clear residents would not bear another burden.

“I said from day one I wasn’t going to bankrupt this city to fix it up. If it means we have to take out a low-interest loan, we’ll do it,” Manier said. “We’re not going to raise property taxes or sales taxes.”

Manier expressed disappointment in President Obama.

“The president, in his own state, didn’t come to see the devastation,” Manier said. “He chose not to help out his own state.”

Still, Manier knows Obama would have to play a vital role in changing how FEMA calculates federal aid.

“If Washington is the template needed to change FEMA’s formula then that’s good. I don’t mind being the poster child,” Manier said. “I think it’s going to happen eventually, but it’ll be too late for us.”

Zach Berg can be reached at 686-3257 or zberg@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZacharyBerg.